Sasol US Mega Project

November 27, 2018

In 2014 Sasol announced their plans to construct a world-scale petrochemical complex in Southwestern Louisiana. With an expected capital expenditure (CAPEX) of US$11 billion Sasol would triple their chemical production capacity in the US.

The mega ethane cracker will produce 1.5 million tons of ethylene annually, benefiting from significant economies of scale. The complex also includes six chemical manufacturing plants. Approximately 90 percent of the cracker’s ethylene output will be converted into a diverse slate of commodity and high-margin specialty chemicals.

As of 2017 commissioning activities was well underway in Lake Charles and in October 2017 overall project completion reached 74%. At this time Sasol hired its 500^th employee to support the project. This is in addition to the 450 full-time positions that have supported the project. In 2017 another 200 jobs were announced in addition to a total of 1,000 contractors.

In March of this year the project reached 85% completion and the first 3 LCCP manufacturing units are expected to start-up by the end of this year with remaining units expected to start up in 2019.